Thrill of the Ride
by pointless-ramblings
Summary: When Julianna Alessi returns home to Charming, her intent was never to fall in love. Especially not with Jackson Teller, the Sons of Anarchy's newest Vice President. But, fate works in mysterious ways and sends these two on the ride of a lifetime. Can they survive the drama and obstacles that the life comes with? (Jax/OC)
1. Introduction

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _**Hello! First of all, my name is Holly, a.k.a pointless-ramblings, you can call me either or, I've even had people call me PR in the past, because it's the quick and abbreviated version of my username. Okay? Cool. Anyway, this isn't my first Sons of Anarchy fanfic and this isn't my first fanfic in general. I've been writing fanfic since I was 10 or 11 years old, and I'm 20 now but, I've personally thought that my writing only got good around 2-3 years ago, maybe 4. I've posted several fanfics for several fandoms before, and have deleted every single one because, well they were awful. And I've tried writing and posting this story multiple times, and each time it's just turns out crap. But, I'm final** **ly confidant enough in it to post it here. So! Without further ado, I present to you...a quick disclaimer XD**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SONS OF ANARCHY OR IT'S CHARACTERS AND STORY LINES, ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO FX AND KURT SUTTER. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED. I SOLELY PLACE OWNERSHIP OVER MY OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON THE SHOW.**

 **Now, enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **June 20, 2003**_

 **"You still haven't told them Julia?"**

 _Judging by the tone of her voice, it wasn't a question that she was asking_. And by _she_ , I meant my Sister-in-Law, Nicoletta Alessi née Russo, or just Nico for short.

"I know, I'm going to."

 **"Oh? Are you? When are you planning on doing that? After you roll into town, and Charming's flock of gossiping old biddies tells them first."**

 _Yes_

"No."

Her deep sigh carried through the phone into my ear and I could hear the sound of a door shutting, like she stepped outside or locked herself in a room.

 **"I love you Lia but, I can't keep lying to everyone. It's obvious I'm keeping a secret and your brother has convinced himself that I'm pregnant again. And I don't need him funneling that pipe-dream into Ma's ear right now. You have to tell them, now, no more "later"."**

 _"Welcome to Charming! Our name says it all!"_

Flying past the town sign, I wasn't expecting the massive wave of nostalgia that washed over me as I went. It was, euphoric almost. As if I was flung back in time to 1997, the year I left said sign in my rear view mirror. Of course I've been back since then, but it was always for holidays. Temporary. This...this was more than that, this was permanent.

 **"Julia?Are you there? Can you hear me?"**

Snapping out of my thoughts, I replied, "Yeah! Yeah, I'm here, I heard what you said."

 **"Are you okay? I'm sorry for twisting your arm like this, I know you have your reasons for keeping it a secret."**

"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just...trying to figure out what I'm going to say to everyone, that's all."

 _Not a total lie._

"And look, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you, I had no right asking you to keep quiet about this. It wasn't your secret to keep."

 **"We're family Lia, it's what we do."**

Smiling for the first time in over two weeks, my heart warmed at her statement.

"So, any ideas on what I should tell them?"

 **"Just say, 'Hey guys, guess what! I'm moving back home! I bought a house and everything!' Boom, easy."**

"That simple huh?"

 **"Yup, but hey look, I have to go, Sal just got home and if I was you, I'd fess up soon."**

"Oh don't worry, I will," I snorted, "Say hi to everyone for me, love you Nic."

 **"I will, love you too, bye!"**

Hanging up, I tossed my cellphone into my purse that sat on the passenger seat, just as a cop car passed me. Holding my breath, I glanced in the rear view and saw the car loop back behind me and throw on their lights.

 _Shit_.

Pulling over onto the dirt shoulder, I parked and reached over to the glove box for my registration and insurance. Rolling down the window, I grabbed my license out of my bag as I heard the cop approaching my side of the car.

"License, registration and insuran-."

I didn't even let him finish before I handed all my papers to him out the window.

"Thanks." He said as he walked off.

"Mhm."

Glancing in the rear view mirror, I watched as the officer got back in the cruiser. I tried to get a good look at him but the glare of the sun on the windshield made it next to impossible. He sounded familiar though. He was older that was much was obvious.

I was sitting there for almost 10 minutes, roasting in the late June heat before I spotted the officer finally coming back in my side view mirror.

"You're a long way from your home in the big apple, Miss. Alessi."

Whipping my head to look at the cop, who was leaning over to look through my window, I was finally able to get a good look at him.

"Wayne Unser?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the sun that was glaring off his receding hairline.

"The one and only," he chuckled as he handed me back my papers, "Now, uh, you wanna tell me why I'm catching you flying into my town at 95 mph?"

His question, while simple, made me pause for a minute, unsure of what to say.

"What, a girl can't be excited to visit her family?" I smiled.

"Not 95 mph excited, no."

Sighing, I nodded my head in defeat, "Would it help if I said that I was sorry and it won't ever happen again?"

He shook his head, "Now you and I both know that, that's not true, I've been pulling you over for speeding since the day you got your license."

Racking my brain, I tried to find an excuse that I could magically pull out of my ass but, I failed to come up with anything substantial enough.

"I'm not getting out of this one am I?" I huffed.

"Nope and your "Mayor's Grand-Daughter" get out of jail free card expired some time ago I'm afraid." He smirked.

Huffing, I stared ahead out my windshield and tapped my hand on the steering wheel before plastering a pretty smile on my face and saying, "What about my "Mayor's Daughter" get out of jail free card?"

We stared each other down for what felt like forever.

"Invalid until your father wins the election this fall, that is, _if_ he wins." Unser deadpanned, the tone in his voice was enough to say he didn't appreciate my comment.

But I kept on pushing and chuckled, "Oh Chief, you and I and _everyone_ else in this town know that there is no _if_ in the equation. He'll win. If you ask me, he doesn't even need to run but, then again maybe I might be a little biased."

He wasn't impressed.

"I'm gonna write you a ticket for speeding, don't let me catch you doing over 60 on this road again or I'll throw you in jail for reckless endangerment, you understand me?" He grunted, pulling a pad out of his breast pocket.

"Yes sir." I muttered.

Sitting there stewing in my own annoyance, I listened to him scratch out my fine on the pad of paper before he tore off my copy.

"Good, and Julia?"

"Yeah?" I replied

"Welcome home." He nodded at me after handing me the pink slip of paper, before walking back to his car.

Rolling my eyes, I waited for him to leave, watching him turn in the direction he was originally going, out of town.

Collapsing into my seat, I sighed and pinched my nose, "Son of a bitch."

Looking down at the ticket, my heart nearly fell out of my ass, "$500!"

Jumping out of the car, I stormed in Unser's direction and screamed, "Asshole!"

Just before he crested over the hill and out of sight, he stuck his arm out his window and waved. Grabbing a chunk of asphalt from the ground, I threw it as hard as I could but it was futile.

 _Fuck_.

* * *

 _The Crescent Motel_ was a local motel in the south side of Charming. It was your typical sleazy hole in the wall lodging but, it wasn't the worst motel in town. Still that didn't keep it from acquiring the alias, _The Crusty Crescent_. It was a U-shaped, 2 story building, with approximately 34 rooms. It's exterior used to be blue but now, after years of sun exposure and lack of maintenance, it was a grey-ish white color and peeling. According to my grandparents, this place _used_ to be nice, like 30 years ago. Now, all it was missing was the flickering street sign and a rusty air stream out front.

Pulling into the parking lot, it took every ounce of might left in me, to pull myself out of my car. After my encounter with Wayne, it was as if all the energy left in my body- which had already been nothing more than fumes -had vanished in an instant. Now, all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Seedy motel bed be damned, I'll deal with the diseases later.

Walking into the front office, I wasn't surprised but, still disappointed to find it had zero air conditioning. Not even a fan. Approaching the desk, there was a man sitting behind it, a set of playing cards sat before him and he was focused intently on a game of Solitaire. He was a greasy looking man, with a balding head that had a few sweaty grey hairs combed across the top of it. The skin of his face seemed stiff and it was riddled with craters. His nose was bulbous and his eyebrows were an unruly mess of salt 'n' pepper hairs. He was wearing a white wife-beater stained yellow from sweat, and a pair of oil stained jeans. He was wearing a name tag that read Herb. _Hmm, fitting_.

"Excuse me." I spoke, loud and clear.

He grunted but never looked up.

"I need a room for one." I pressed.

"We got those."

Now I was starting to get angry, "Now, _please_."

Sighing as if I had just presented him with the biggest inconvenience known to man, he turned around to a wall of hooks and grabbed a random key. Turning back to me, we finally locked eyes and he smirked. Holding the keys out in the palm of his hand, he raked his eyes up and down my body. Resisting the urge to gag, I snatched the keys from his hand quickly before he could try anything and read the tag attached to it. _R_ _oom_ _25_.

"I'm gonna need your name there sweet-pea, security purposes." He smirked.

Narrowing my eyes I delivered a subtle yet no less powerful warning, "Alessi."

But the idiot just nodded, scribbling down my response onto a yellow notepad, the threat in my statement going in one ear, and out the other.

"And I'm going to need your last name and number as well." He smiled, a crooked yellow toothed smile.

Stunned by just how stupid this man really was and by how stupid he thought _I was_ , I scoffed out a laugh, "No," and turned on my heel and walked out the door.

Quickly climbing back into my car, I pulled out of the space and moved to one closer to the staircase. Grabbing my purse, suitcase and anything else I didn't feel comfortable leaving in the car to be stolen, I locked it up and trudged up the metal subway grate stairs. Passing several rooms that projected noises I never wished to hear, I made it to room 25, which just so happened to be right above the office. Letting myself in, I quickly closed and locked the door behind me, before setting my stuff down. Looking around, on the surface, the room wasn't as disgusting as I was expecting it to be but, the same couldn't be said about whatever lies _beneath_ the surface. Bleach can do wonders sometimes. Sitting down on the end on the bed, I bounced a few times to test it out. _Well, I've definitely slept on better before._

Grabbing my blanket, I draped it over the bed, careful to make sure no corner of the motel bedding was poking out, before I laid down. Staring up at the water stained ceiling, I waited for sleep to take me but it didn't. Turning my head to the left, I glanced at a clock on the wall, it read 3:07 pm. Sighing, my eyes dropped to a wooden desk against the same wall. Glancing over to the door, then back to the desk, I sat up and moved from the bed. Grabbing the desk chair, I dragged it over to the door and wedged it underneath the doorknob. Once I was confident that no one would be able to get into the room, I returned to the bed. Laying down and closing my eyes, I was fast asleep not even 10 seconds later.

* * *

 **A/N: _So, what does everyone think? I know it's short but, it is only an introduction. Other chapters will be longer (hopefully). I tried catching any spelling and grammar mistakes but if any managed to slip past me, I apologize. Now, I can't say definitively, how often I'll be updating, this story is Pre-Season 1 so I'm going off my own imagination (mostly),and the best thing I can do for now is to say that you guys should follow the story, that way you get an email when I do finally update. Don't forget to leave a review telling me what you liked about the introduction, what you guys would like to see from this story, any ideas you guys would like to throw out there. I have a pretty good idea of where I want this story to go, it's just getting it there that's gonna be tricky haha. Constructive criticism is always welcome, hate comments will be deleted._**

 **Xx Holly**


	2. Chapter One: Home Sweet Home

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** _ **Hello again! I'm back, how is everyone? Good, I hope. I want to start off by taking the time to thank everyone who read my story, who favorited, who followed, who reviewed, it honestly means SO much to me. As a writer, your interest in my story fuels my inspiration and desire to write. So thank you very much.**_

 **REVIEW RESPONSES:**

 **Khyharah:** _My first reviewer! First off, thank you so much for reviewing, you made me so happy! I'm glad you are enjoying my OC so far, I hope she continues to hold your interest throughout this story. Xx_

 **Chiefgirl87:** _Honestly thank you for your review, it means so much to me. I'm SO happy that you are happy with the introduction and that you're excited about the first/next chapter! Xx_

 **beth626:** _Thank you, thank you, thank you SO much for your review. I'm glad you find my story interesting so far! Hopefully, this chapter doesn't disappoint. Xx_

 **Legolas' Girl 31(Dani):** _Thank you for your review, seriously, it pulled me out of a writer's block which in turn helped get this chapter finished. I'm glad you loved the intro! I hope you enjoy this one as well! Xx_

 **Foreverkee:** _Thank you for reviewing! I'm so happy you enjoyed the intro and are excited for what is to come! Xx_

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SONS OF ANARCHY OR IT'S CHARACTERS AND STORYLINES, ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO FX AND KURT SUTTER. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED. I SOLELY PLACE OWNERSHIP OVER MY OWN ORIGINAL CHARACTERS NEVER BEFORE SEEN ON THE SHOW.**

 **Enjoy :D**

* * *

 _June 21, 2003_

 _ **Opening my eyes, my lids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds.**_

Sitting up in the darkness, I let my eyes adjust to my surroundings before I started fumbling for a light to turn on. Yawning, I became uncomfortably aware of how dry my mouth and lips were. Moving to the edge of the bed, I began carefully swatting the air, trying to locate the nightstand and the lamp on top of it. When my fingers came in contact with something hard, so I tapped around for a minute to confirm that it was, in fact, the bedside table. Locating the lamp, I pulled the chain and was nearly blinded by it's dim, yellow glow once it turned on. My head began pounding with the sudden change of brightness in the room, and then, and only then did my brain decide to acknowledge just how sweaty my body was. It had to be at least 90 degrees in this room.

Getting out of bed, I shuffled slowly to the window and shoved it open. Relishing in the cool breeze that swept in I leaned against the window sill and took note of the blue-black sky. After cooling off for a few minutes, I then turned to check the time. _5:30 am, holy shit_. I can't remember the last time that I've ever slept this long before. _And I don't even feel refreshed._ In fact, I felt even more tired. Sluggish and heavy. My throat was raw and scratchy, most likely a by-product of snoring, and my eyes were burning and watery from being closed for so long. Rubbing my face, I cringed at the feeling of the built-up oil around my nose and along my forehead. _Time for a shower_.

Turning on my heel, I made my way into the bathroom and flipped the light switch. The overhead light took a few seconds to turn on and when it did it slowly flickered alive. Stepping into the room, my feet weren't greeted with the feeling of the cold floor beneath them. A quick glance down would provide me with the answer why. I never got changed out of my clothes last night, not even my shoes. Turning back, I grabbed my suitcase by the still barricaded door and placed it on the bed. Opening it up, I fished for a clean pair of jeans that I wasn't even sure I had any more, I very well may have run out of clean clothes 3 cities ago.

It took a while but, eventually, I was able to dig out some _semi_ -clean clothes, along with my toiletries and was in the shower by a quarter after 6. The shower itself was as expected, the tub was stained, and the tile grout was black with mildew and soap scum. The harsh water was weak and lukewarm long enough to wash my hair and body but, ice cold when it came time to rinse off. It left my hair feeling like straw and the cold water, while it normally would have woken me up, it only served to make my head throb worse. And what was just a minor annoyance before, was now a full-blown migraine. I needed some Advil or something, and fast. Climbing out of the shower, I wrapped my hair up and began drying off my body. I quickly dressed in a pair of straight legged Levi's and a striped t-shirt. Sitting down on the toilet seat, I slipped on some socks and unwrapped my hair, ruffling it around to absorb any excess water.

Moving to the sink, I used my towel to wipe the condensation off the mirror and leaned forward to check my reflection. My eyes were bloodshot and my skin was dull and dry from the days on the road. My hair was crunchy and tangled and I looked an absolute mess. Sighing, I shook my head and bent down to pick up my dirty clothes before leaving the bathroom. Tossing my clothes in the open suitcase, I returned to the window to close it. The sun was up now and the people of the town were starting to go about their day. A few cars left the motel parking lot and as I watched them go I spotted a convenience store across the street. _They'll definitely have something for my headache, food too_. Closing up the window and drawing the curtains, I turned to the bed and sat down to pull on my boots. Grabbing my purse and the room key, I slipped on sunglasses and moved towards the door. Removing the chair, I stepped outside into the sunlight and took a deep breath.

Locking the door, I tossed the key in my bag and headed for the stairs. Making my way down, I was stopped at the bottom by a group of men standing around smoking. They all looked the same- white, bald, dirty jeans, wife beater underneath cut off flannel shirts -typical rednecks. As I approached, they turned to face me.

"Look at what we got here." One man to my left leered. He was tall, with facial features too small for is blocky, square head. He had a short crew cut, that was spiked up with too much gel. He looked like a total toolbag.

"Good morning to you beautiful." The man beside him smirked. He looked the youngest out of all of them, with a close-shaved buzz cut and a shitty neckbeard. His whole demeanor reeked of cockiness.

"What's a sweet little thing like you doing around here, huh?" Now this guy, was the worst of them all. He was short and stout, with a round and fleshy abdomen. His long face was connected to his short neck by multiple folds of fat. He had a crooked and down-turned nose, his eyes were small and beady, and his lips were like two fat worms. Judging by the way he lisped the word 'sweet', he was most likely missing some teeth as well. He was truly the most nauseating man I've ever seen.

Taking a deep breath, I clenched my jaw and pursed my lips, "Excuse me please, I need to get through."

"What's the rush doll? Why don't you keep us company for a little while." Neckbeard replied he was practically licking his teeth as he eyed me up and down.

 _Manners, Julianna, manners and patience, I could hear my mother's voice in my head, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar"._

"Sorry, I can't, I have places to be so if you _gentlemen_ could step to the side and let me through, I'd really appreciate it." I forced a smile. He seemed as if he was going to do as I asked but, Toolbag, however, did not like my response one bit.

"What's the matter Princess, too good for us?"

Narrowing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm down before trying to defuse the situation, "Look, boys, I don't mean any offense-."

But it only served to make him angrier, "Who the hell you calling _boy_ bitch!?"

You know what, I've always hated honey.

Opening my mouth to go off in him, he started towards me, but one of his buddies reached out and grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey, hey, hey, relax Rex, leave the lady alone."

Refusing to back down first, I held eye contact with _Rex_ for a solid minute before he eventually shook his arm free of his friend and stormed off in a huff. But _not_ before spitting at my feet first. Rolling my eyes, I looked at the guy who helped me out.

He was the tallest of the group and _appeared_ to be the same age as my eldest brother Sal. He had raven hair that was slicked back and a well-kept goatee. He was pretty well off in the muscle department, looking as if he spent multiple hours a week in the gym. Just when I was going to admit that he was handsome, my eyes fell on a tattoo peeking out from underneath his guinea tee. It was a swastika. _He's a skinhead_. When did Nazi's move into town? I made a mental note to ask dad about it when I saw him.

"Why don't you guys go make sure Rex doesn't stir up any more trouble with anyone else." He ordered.

With that they nodded in submission and walked away, throwing a "Sure thing boss," over their shoulders as they left.

 _He was the leader._

"Sorry about that Miss." He smiled.

Hesitating, I readjusted my purse on my shoulder and said, "Thanks, uh."

"Tyler." He interrupted. He must have taken my pause as an opportunity to offer his name.

 _Didn't ask for it but, okay._

"Tyler...right," I muttered, "Thanks again, for helping with that."

"Anything for a local." He chuckled.

Scrunching my brows in confusion, the vibe I got when he said made me uncomfortable. I didn't like the way he was looking at me either like he knew something I didn't. Shifting around uncomfortably, I wanted this situation over with.

"I'm just gonna go now, so if you could just.." I sighed, motioning with my hand for him to step aside.

"Right, right, sorry," he laughed, raising his hands as he stepped out of my way, "You have a good day now."

Nodding at him, I quickly walked past him and down the sidewalk. Making it to the street, I waited for the cars to pass before jogging across to the other side. Reaching the front doors of _Lucky's Convenience Store_ , I pulled on the door handle but it wouldn't budge. Pulling again to no avail, I cupped my hands on the glass and peered inside. There were some lights on but no one was in sight. Pulling back, I looked around at the storefront for any open/closed signs but found none, instead, I found a paper with the store hours on it. Today was Saturday, their hours on Saturday's are 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. So what time was it now? Digging around inside my bag, I located my cell phone and pulled it out to check the time. _Dead, God dammit!_

Huffing out a sigh of annoyance, I turned around and surveyed my surroundings. Clearly, they weren't open right now, so I'll just have to figure something else out. My stomach growled violently and reminded me of the last time l ate which was yesterday morning. Moving onto the sidewalk, I started walking, using only my memory to guide me to my destination.

* * *

 _Hanna's Diner_. The local hot spot for teenagers on Friday's, families on Saturday's and your average churchgoer on Sunday's. The place where every child in Charming goes for their first date or gets their first serving job. Hanna's has been around since before I was even born, and hopefully, it'll be around when my children are my age. Smiling, I crossed the lot, climbed the red brick steps and swung open the door. The chiming bell overhead brought back so many memories that my mood was instantly boosted by like ten percent. Walking inside, I glanced around just taking everything in. For the most part, nothing had changed much, besides the covers on the bar stools and booth benches. Maybe a paint change as well.

Wandering down the aisle, I chose a booth in the back corner. Not long after getting settled, a waitress in a typical peach colored, uniform dress with a white apron tied around her waist, approached me. She was young, maybe late teens, with strawberry hair and big green eyes. When she spoke, her voice was soft and quiet.

"Hi, my name is Sophie I'll be your server today, can I start you off with something to drink?" She smiled as she handed me a menu.

"Hi, can I get a glass of orange juice, no pulp, and a black coffee please."

"Of course, coming right up." She nodded, scribbling it down on her little notepad before walking away.

Flipping open the menu, I trailed my eyes down their list of breakfast options, silently hoping _it_ was still on the menu. And sure enough, at the very bottom of the second page was the _hearty breakfast_. It consisted of two pancakes, a slice of french toast, a Belgian waffle, hash browns, two eggs of your choice, three strips of bacon, three sausage links, and toast. The God of Breakfast, as my brother Antonio, liked to call it when we were younger. It was our go-to breakfast on Sunday's after church. I can still remember like it was yesterday, all the work we had to do to convince our father that we could finish it all. Or at least that _I_ could finish it. And I did, making me the first ever- _I think_ -10 years old to put away that much food in Charming. I ate it every Sunday, and now that I think about it, it was more than likely the cause of my chubbier middle school days.

Sophie returned with my drinks and I closed the menu, "Here you go ma'am, sorry for the wait."

"That's alright sweetheart, it's not a problem." I smiled.

"Are you ready to order?" She asked.

"I am actually, I'm going to get the hearty breakfast, eggs scrambled and wheat toast." Was my reply as I handed her back the menu.

"Okay, the hearty breakfast may take a little longer to prepare, is that ok?"

"That's fine, I'm not in any rush."

"Okay then, just sit tight and it'll be out before you know it." She chuckled before returning to her other tables.

"Thanks!" I called after her.

Grabbing my mug of coffee, I leaned over it and breathed in deeply. The steam and the scent of the roasted beans helped to clear my mind of its foggy state. Taking a sip, I gritted my teeth at the bitter taste. I never really drink black coffee but, if I'm going to make it through the rest of the day, I need to chug it down to help recover from my oversleeping. Taking a couple chugs of my coffee before setting it aside, I grabbed my orange juice and took a drink. _God, coffee, and orange juice is_ _ **not**_ _a good combination at all, I don't know what I was thinking_. Shaking my head, as if that would somehow rid my mouth of the bad taste, I cleared my throat and sat back in my seat and relaxed.

Closing my eyes, I just listened to everything around me. There was an elderly couple, not far away from me, talking about everything under the sun. From the woman's gardening plans and the local flower selection at Poppy's Nursery to her husbands up and coming fishing trip with their grandsons. They reminded me of my mom and dad's parents. Nearby, there was a child asking his or her mom, why birds didn't have arms and it took all the strength in my body not to burst out into laughter. _I can't wait to have kids of my own one day_. I heard someone sit down in the booth next to mine. It was a woman, and she was talking to someone. Through deductive reasoning, I determined that she was on the phone, due to the lack of vocal replies to everything that she was saying.

At that moment, Sophie returned with my food, "Here you go ma'am."

Opening my eyes, I sat up and smiled brightly as she placed everything down in front of me, "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, enjoy!"

Digging into my food, I quickly finished off my coffee now that I had something to properly cleanse my palate with. I took my time eating, despite how hungry I was. I wanted to savor everything, seeing as I haven't had it in so long. After paying for my food and leaving Sophie a generous tip, I left Hanna's and made my return to Lucky's.

* * *

The walk back was nice, there was a beautiful breeze and the sun was shining and there wasn't a grey cloud in the baby blue sky. Stopping at my motel room to plug my phone in real quick to charge, I was thankful that the peckerwoods were nowhere to be seen. I was able to get to my room and back across the street without any hassle. Just in time too it seems, as I approached there was a boy unlocking the front doors. He must have heard me coming up behind him because he turned around just as I reached him.

"Oh, good morning." He smiled.

"Good morning to you as well, are you guys finally open?" I asked with a smile but, I didn't wait for a reply before I walked passed him and into the store.

"Uh, I mean technically yes we are but, um none of our cashiers have clocked in yet." He fumbled out as he stumbled in after me.

"That's alright I'm not getting much, I'm sure you can ring me up." I offered over my shoulder as I perused the shelves for the painkillers.

"Well, I'm just a stock clerk and I work in back with inventory, not with the registers."

Finding some Advil in the back near the pharmacy, I made my way up to the refrigerators and grabbed a water bottle, "It's not that difficult, I'm sure you can figure it out hon."

"I-I know how to work a register, I'm just not suppose-."

My patience was running pretty thin and I just wanted to go back to my room and rest my eyes, so I cut him off, "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll pay cash and you can give it to your manager or a cashier and _they_ can put it in the register, you can even keep the change."

Sighing, he glanced around to see if anyone was watching, "Fine, but if I get fired for this, I know who to come after for a new job."

Rolling my eyes behind my sunglasses, I pulled my wallet out and grabbed a twenty. _Good luck with that buddy, you don't even know who I am_. Handing him the money I tossed my purchases into my bag and headed for the door.

"You're welcome!" He yelled.

"Thanks, kid!" I replied, already outside with the door swinging closed behind me.

* * *

Throwing myself down on the bed, I let out a loud groan as I massaged my temples. Tossing off my glasses, I pulled the aspirin and water out of my bag and ripped out the box. Opening both, I popped two pills in my mouth and downed half of the water in one go. Glancing at the clock, it read 10:15, so I moved to the nightstand where my phone was charging and powered it on. Checking my emails, I was happy to see I had one from the realtor. It read;

 _Dear J. Alessi,_

 _I am happy to inform you that your keys are ready and waiting for you upon your arrival in Charming. When you receive this email, please contact me, via the number listed on my business card, asap. I look forward to signing the final paperwork for your forever home._

 _P. R. Applegate, Realtor_

 _J. Hale Realty_

 _P. R. Applegate_ \- short for Peter Randall Applegate -an up and coming realtor who was going to house the entire population of the Northern West coast, from Northern California to the Vancouver border. _His words, not mine_. I remember the first time I met Peter, my best friend back in Manhattan, Brooke, brought her new flavor of the month home with her. I had already learned from Brooke, that he was a realtor in California, but imagine my surprise when he told me exactly _where_ in California. _Out of all the cities and out of all the towns that were in the state of California, he just happened to work out of Charming_. And what were the fucking odds, that we'd meet in New York, the largest city in the United States? I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't suspicious of him for a while, I mean who wouldn't be but, eventually, I learned that he was born and raised in San Diego and that he only worked in Charming. He actually lived in Stockton, in a house that was left to him in his grandmother's will.

Reaching over for my purse, I pulled out the folded up card and punched in the number. It rang 6 times before his assistant picked up, "Thank you for calling Jacob Hale Realty, you've contacted Peter R. Applegate, this is his assistant Jenna speaking how may I help you?"

"Hello Jenna, this is Julianna Alessi, I'm calling in regards to an e-mail I received from Mr. Applegate, I was wondering if you could page me through to him please?" I asked.

"One second, let me put you on hold real quick."

Sighing, I sat back against the headboard and flipped the card around in my hand as the cheesy elevator music played in my ear. I was probably on hold for 5 minutes before he answered, "This is Peter."

"Hey Peter it's me, Julianna, I got your e-mail, I finally made to town and I was wondering if you had time to meet up, finish those papers you talked about."

"Sweet, I'm available around 11:00, do you think you can swing by my office then so we can close this deal." He whooped and I couldn't resist rolling my eyes. _I'll never understand what Brooke sees in this guy. He is truly the bro of all bros. I never got a straight answer from her on where she met him, I think it was Spring break in Cancun or something like that._

"Alright, I'm leaving now so I should probably be there by 11." I agreed standing up from the bed and to unplug my cell phone. Grabbing everything I needed, I tossed my charger into my purse and left the room.

"Aight see you then." He said and ended the call.

Hanging up, I tossed my palmOne Treo 600 into my bag and locked the door. Heading down to the parking lot I located my car that was thankfully still parked in the spot I left it in and made my way over to it. After a quick inspection to make sure that none of my windows were broken, I climbed inside and went on my way.

To get to Peter's work, I had to drive through downtown, not that I was complaining at all. Downtown, Main Street especially, was what gave Charming it's good _charm_. The mom and pop shops and storefronts owned by locals have been here since my father was a baby. _Floyd's Barbershop, Lucy's Hair Salon, Bob & Bailey's Antique Store_, all of these places were just some of the things that made Charming the way it was. Driving down the street, I could see store owner's out either sweeping the sidewalk confront of their businesses or cleaning their windows. You could feel the pride that they had in their establishments. You didn't get that sense in New York, or at least you didn't everywhere. Those places that did were a dime a dozen.

Pulling up to the realty building at 11 on the dot, I quickly parked and got out. Walking up to the doors, I stopped to take a deep breath. _Now or never_ , I thought and stepped inside. The lobby of _J. Hale Realty_ was clean and open, with white walls, grey marble flooring, and floor to ceiling windows. The waiting area consisted of black leather and steel chairs surrounding an all-glass coffee table. And there was black and white abstract art of multiple sizes hanging on the walls. Overall it was very pleasant looking, however, the buildings industrial brick exterior did not match its pristine interior. The outside screamed warehouse, while the inside screamed Upper Westside office building. It was just all too obvious that _Jacob Hale_ was trying to appeal to a certain crowd by appearing- posing -as someone who was even more uppity and snobbish than he already was. Approaching the stone and granite reception desk, the young woman behind it looked up and smiled at me, "Hello, can I help you with something?"

"Yes, could you please point me in the direction of Peter Applegate's office?"

* * *

Our meeting didn't last very long, fifteen minutes max, maybe even shorter. And the majority of those minutes were spent with him drilling into me about how the house was a fixer-upper and how he wanted to make sure that I knew this before signing anything. And I did already know that he told me in his initial e-mail reply to me, as well as in our first phone call. Brooke was the one who told me how her boyfriend was trying to sell a fixer-upper in my hometown and that I should give him a call. And before I knew it, my John Hancock was drying on the papers and he was placing the keys in my hand.

"I'm so glad we could close this deal today Julianna, you've just made me one happy man." He smiled joyfully as he shook my hand.

"Yeah no problem, thanks for helping me out, I know it was short notice." I replied as we left his office.

"No, thank you! Your e-mail was like a Godsend, I don't know what I would have done if you didn't express interest in this house." He sighed as he escorted me back out into the lobby.

Smirking, I chuckled, "You should be thanking Brooke, she's the one who told me about this house and how you were desperate to sell it."

"I'll keep that in mind when I see her tomorrow."

"Visiting her in New York are you?" I asked.

"Yeah, just a little vacation." He explained, "We're going to her parents' lake house up in Maine for the 4th."

Nodding I held the keys up awkwardly, "Alright well, thanks again."

He just nodded and smiled so I turned and exited the building. Climbing into my car and pulling out onto the street, I made my way to my new home. It was a 950 . one bedroom, one bath, two-story country style, located on the East side of Charming at the corner of a cul de sac. _Not exactly in the best neighborhood but, beggars can't be choosers_. It wasn't that the neighborhood was _dangerous_ , per say, just that it wasn't exactly filled with Charming's star citizen's either. At least it wasn't back in 97' when I left, so for all, I know it could be completely different now, with new residents and all that jazz. _Who am I kidding, it's Charming, when does anything change in this town._

It took a little over 15 minutes to get there, and as I pulled up to the curb of _1313 Springer Blvd_ , I wasn't surprised by what greeted me. The grass was overgrown, standing almost a foot high, and filled with dandelions and weeds. The rusty mailbox at the curb was dented like it'd been knocked off its slanted post a couple of times. Getting out of the car, I walked over to and up, the faded and cracked driveway. It didn't have a garage, just a dilapidated wooden overhang that you could park under. Standing there, I surveyed the building. It was definitely country-esque, that much was obvious, it had a screened in front porch which had seen better days. The wood was faded and warped, the screen was torn in several places and its railing was missing several balusters.

The house itself seemed to be in good condition from what I could tell, the foundation didn't look broken cracked and I couldn't see any holes in the roof but, it was missing a few shingles. It needed a fresh coat of paint, it's old color had completely chipped off at this point, and what was left of its gutters, were hanging on by a thread. Peter was right about it being a fixer-upper, and I can see why the last owners were evicted. This place was an eyesore like no other.

Locating the cracked rock and concrete pathway, within the jungle that was my lawn, I waded my way to the front steps. Climbing them carefully, they creaked and groaned with every gentle step I took. I was afraid of every step, just waiting for a board to snap and for me to go straight through because clearly, this porch was rotted. Reaching the entrance safely, I took a relieved breath. There were porch lights on either side of the door, the one on the right was shattered and the one of the left was hanging from the wall by its wires. Shaking my head, I pulled open the warped and bent screen door after doing a quick sweep for any spiders and began digging around in my pocket for the keys. Pulling them out, I unlocked the real estate padlock and removed it from the doorknob. Tossing it down on the porch, I unlocked the door and deadbolt.

Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and pushed. _Nothing_. The door wouldn't open. Trying again, with no luck, I double checked to make sure that I actually unlocked it. Confident that I did, I tried again, this time giving it a little nudge with my shoulder. It was stuck, I could hear it cracking with each push, pulling away from the frame it was frozen too. No ones have been in here for awhile then, I guess. Rolling my shoulders, I gripped the handle tightly and braced myself. Turning the knob, I slammed my shoulder into the door but to no avail.

It wouldn't budge. Trying a second time, with a little more force, I could have sworn I felt it move slightly. Mustering up all the strength in my body, I threw my full weight into the door with a grunt and it flew open. _Third times the charm_. Stumbling inside, I groaned and rubbed my shoulder while stretching out my arm.

The smell was the first thing I noticed. Then the dust in the air. Coughing, I used my t-shirt to cover my nose and looked around.

 _"Son of a bitch."_

* * *

 **A/N:** _ **Noooooo, not a cliffhanger! Haha, sorry about that guys but I decided to split this chapter into two chapters or else it would have been way too long. Split up, this chapter is still 5,000+ words, which is insane. I also wanted to say sorry for the wait, I originally wanted to upload this on the 30th of April but I hit a writers block regarding a certain section of this chapter, then I was gone from May 4th to 6th for a church retreat, THEN my car broke down and I had to handle that but, I finally got it done. I want to thank everyone who followed and favorites this story, I'm actually shocked at how many of you there are. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the first chapter, and to everyone who was kind enough to review. You've all made me so happy! So, until next time, don't forget to favorite. follow, and review if you already haven't!**_

 _ **Xx Holly**_


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